A neighbour with an "infatuation" made a woman flee her home before he broke a restraining order by contacting her on social media, it is alleged.
The man, in his mid-30s, whose identity cannot be revealed due to reporting restrictions, appeared at Dublin District Court on Monday.
"I don't know this man; I did not invite this; I have always been clear," the visibly upset young woman told Judge Alan Mitchell. Bail was denied due to possible witness interference.
The court heard that he was charged with breaching a civil restraining order granted at the end of December and that he had already been accused of breaking the interim version of that order.
A contested bail hearing was told that the complainant had moved into an apartment close to the defendant's home in a south Dublin suburb.
The arresting garda said, "That is when the infatuation began", and until then, they had no other contact and had never been in any relationship.
In December, she obtained the interim restraining order, which was allegedly breached and led to another pending prosecution.
The full five-year restraining order prohibiting contact was also granted, but it was allegedly breached at the weekend when the man reportedly attempted to make online contact with her via Linked In.
Defence solicitor Matthew Holmes informed the judge that his client had bipolar disorder and was a person with autism and post-traumatic stress disorder and was on medication, and there had been protracted family problems.
He said his client was well educated and that "the penny had dropped" for the man, who now understood that a breach of the order puts him in jeopardy of custody.
The complainant said that after gardai first spoke to him in October about contacting her, he went to her home that evening with an apology letter, which he "taped to my window".
When an interim restraining order was finalised in the District Court, it was made clear not to contact her, but she discovered he had "tagged" her on Instagram and Facebook.
He was charged for that but had received bail pending the result of that case, which is scheduled to be heard in April.
The court heard that the alleged latest attempted contact on Linked In was a connection request with an associated message.
The accused claimed to gardai, "I didn't know it was her," when charged.
The woman described him as physically threatening and said she was generally terrified of running into him.
She explained that it had affected her sleep, and she had to take time off work. The woman also explained that it led her to move out of her home, but she still had to cover the rent on that property and pay for her current accommodation.
The defence pleaded with the court to release the man with conditions, even to reside in a different area. The solicitor stressed that the accused, who has been granted legal aid, had the assistance of his mother and now a legal team, as well as his doctor, who could provide reports to the court.
However, the judge refused the application and remanded him in custody. The accused has yet to indicate a plea and will appear again later this week.
